“Tell us everything!” Julian smiled.

  “It’s easier just to show you.” Hannah chuckled as her status screen appeared in the air in front of them.

  “A rare profession! Congrats.” Elena cheered.

  “Thanks! I was starting to worry that it was leaning more towards farmer and less towards fighter. Now, it’s all about my relationship with Buttercup and how we fight together.” Hannah explained.

  “Do you know why only three of the skills are F Grade?” Harvey asked.

  “Yeah. The notification says the Capstone skill you create at the max level of each grade will always evolve with you, but how many of the other ones you can evolve depends on the rarity of your profession.” Hannah answered.

  “Got it. I like how you’re able to share stats. I got a skill that does something similar with equipment I make.” Harvey commented.

  “No way!” Hannah remarked, “Of course, Mommy wants to help her handsome boy! Who’s a good deer? You are!” She sang, patting Buttercup’s neck and scratching under his chin. The deer was still in shock, but its stressed huffs melted into gentle breathing as she played with him. The status screen hadn’t disappeared, so they took a look at her class.

  “It never really occurred to me, but I guess you are a little feral,” Julian smirked.

  “Wild! Not feral.” She grinned. “Feral makes it sound like I’ve got leaves in my hair.”

  “To be honest, I was a little worried when I first saw your steady draw skill. Going from cheerleader to an archer whose power relies on never missing a shot seemed impossible, but it feels like your entire class revolves around that skill.”

  “Oh, I still miss all the time, but it’s easier with Buttercup. Instead of gambling with long shots, I just let him keep me barely out of reach while I load things up with arrows.” Hannah explained.

  “Which explains Wild Roar. Let’s you reset the fight if something gets too close.” Harvey muttered.

  “Look at that! Here I was assuming you were an idiot, but you’ve managed to interpret my genius!” Hannah giggled before screaming at the top of her lungs. Without a run-up, the skill wasn’t enough to knock over their pew, but Harvey was shocked when it plastered him to his seat.

  “I always knew you were a banshee.” Harvey groaned, unable to hide the grin on his face. She’d taken a massive step forward, and he almost couldn’t believe how much stronger she’d become. He’d been impressed by the 12 stat points he got with every profession level, and now she was getting 36 per level from both. Every level from here on out would turn the gap between them into a chasm.

  I’m gonna be sick if I don’t evolve soon. Harvey thought.

  “Alright, you two, no fighting at church.” Julian laughed. “Besides, you don’t want to miss the opportunity to see a master at work.”

  Harvey watched as Julian placed his hands on the crystal ball and prepared himself to watch the spools of thread ravage his friend. Just looking at them brought back memories of threads worming their way underneath his skin back when he got his profession, and that was nowhere near as much thread as Hannah’s evolution.

  The rainbow haze returned, and Harvey watched as visions of Julian fighting both in Veils End and back on Earth appeared in front of him. He’d started to think that the System didn’t value experiences before the integration as much, but almost half of Julian’s class upgrade came from before the integration. The Loom wouldn’t let him ruin his class by accident, and Julian wasn’t stupid. Maybe he knew something Harvey didn’t.

  He’d already made his capstone skill, so Julian was able to jump straight into his evolution. Harvey held his breath as he watched Julian strike down stronger and stronger foes, interspersed with daring rescues into burning buildings. It was like watching a movie where someone had spoiled the ending. He knew Julian was going to survive, but that didn’t keep him off the edge of his seat as the replays flew by.

  One by one, they flew into the Loom, and the Red, Orange, Black, Grey, and Silver spools all fluttered to life. Needle-thin threads shot toward him, lifting him high as his body went limp. Again, they watched his weave widen in a blaze of glory before washing away entirely. Sigil after sigil flared before disappearing, and the thread didn’t stop even after his skin was as clear as the day he was born.

  Harvey counted under his breath, each second dragging on as he watched the thread boiling just underneath the skin. He wasn’t sure whether to panic or celebrate that it was taking longer than Hannah’s, since it could either spell disaster or an even better result than hers.

  Finally, the Loom severed its connection, and Julian fell to the floor. Like before, the rainbow haze stayed in place as Julian began evolving his skills. Harvey recognized the sigils for Guardian’s Breath and Heroic Leap, but there was a third showing a shirtless Julian with his muscles swelling that Harvey hadn’t seen before. Each entered the Loom along with visions of Julian using them before an F-Grade sigil was spit out.

  When the process was finally complete, Julian staggered back to the pew with raspy breaths.

  “I…” He choked, a wracking cough overtaking his entire body. His aura was shaky, only bursts of the proud, confident leader Harvey’d come to know leaking through.

  “You what?” Harvey asked. “Do you need anything?”

  “Win.” Julian smiled, a hearty chuckle turning into more coughs as a screen appeared in front of them. Hannah’s eyes went wide, and Harvey felt the tirade boiling up inside her.

  “Holy crap…” Hannah whispered, “You didn’t win! You cheated! It’s gotta be easier to get an Epic class when you give up on your profession!”

  Elena turned to Harvey with a confused look as the other woman berated Julian. “I don’t know if I’ll ever understand you guys.”

  Harvey just laughed and leaned in next to her.

  “Damn, that shield slam skill really stands out next to all the Emberheart stuff,” Harvey muttered.

  “Yeah. I’ll admit I wasn’t feeling very creative that day, but it still has its uses.” Julian smiled, finally able to talk after greedily drinking from a water jug.

  “Your class is amazing!” Elena marveled. “You’re our knight in burning armor! And 84 stats from just your class is insane."

  Harvey winced, that familiar pit forming in his stomach. His friends were soaring past him, while he was still crawling, injured, on the ground.

  “Thanks, Elena! I guess leaving my profession behind gave me double the stats for my class? I can’t wait to test it out.” Julian beamed.